A former police officer with the Edo State Police Command, Inspector Edith Uduma, has threatened to kill herself and her children. This is following her dismissal from the police force after she exposed an alleged rape incident involving a colleague.
This is even as Uduma has accused the State Police Command of unjustly dismissing her. She, however, expressed frustration at her dismissal because, according to her, the public had not also heard her side of the story.
Recall that Uduma was dismissed after a viral video she captured in October. The video showed one Sergeant Abraham, another officer, in a compromising position with a 17-year-old girl at the police station in the South Ibie area of Edo State.
The officer was seen hurriedly wearing his trousers and querying why Edith was making a video recording. The girl was seen lying on a chair in the room in the course of this.
It was learnt from the police that both officers were later dismissed following an orderly room trial.
However, the Edo State Police Command, in a statement released in November, alleged that Uduma conspired with her husband, Inspector Ibrahim Mohammed, to extort N1m from Abraham to cover up the incident.
According to the statement by Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, when Abraham reportedly offered N45,000 instead, the video was leaked online.
The Command further added, “That, contrary to reports from certain quarters, the said female police officer, AP/no 228719 Insp. Edith Uduma, was the Charge Room Officer on October 7, 2024. The night F/No. 504694 Sgt. Abraham allegedly raped a female suspect in the station.
“The female officer, instead of reporting the incident to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, or the Incident Duty Officer as the case may be, for disciplinary actions to be initiated against the erring officer, took advantage of the situation to enrich herself by calling her husband, AP No. 228652 Insp. Ibrahim Mohammed. Whom she conspired with to unlawfully demand the sum of N1m from the sergeant to assist him in concealing the matter.
“Following these events, an orderly room trial was initiated against all the officers. Which led to the dismissal of Sgt. Abraham and Insp Edith Uduma.”
“Uduma’s husband was also demoted to the rank of Sergeant,” the report stated.
But in an interview with PUNCH Metro on Saturday, Uduma denied the allegation by the police. She insisted she never extorted money and that she was not given a fair hearing. Uduma also alleged that her dismissal was orchestrated because she lacked influential connections.
As a result therefore, the dismissed officer threatened to kill herself if she didn’t get justice.
She said, “What the Edo Command is saying is not what happened. They know I have no rank or support to fight back.”
Uduma further revealed that the Force Headquarters in Abuja was still investigating the matter only for the Edo Command to hurriedly dismiss her.
“I want justice. My dismissal is unjust,” she said tearfully, Punch reported.
She also stated that her husband who was also sanctioned had no connection to the matter.
“He (my husband) used to bring something for me to eat. He brought food that time to the station.
“If Nigerians refuse to listen to me – because my husband has been in detention. And they have been looking for me to arrest me, to charge me to court. If Nigeria refuses to listen to me, I will just poison all my children and myself. I will die. Because I’m just stranded like this,” she said.
Uduma noted that she had been in hiding. And as a result had not seen her children in a long time due to the incident.
The embattled dismissed officer alleged that the DPO at the station prompted her to ask Sergeant Ibrahim for the N1m for negotiation. This is when the Sergeant reportedly disappeared after the incident.
She noted that the money was to lure the suspect to show up.
Uduma, therefore, expressed surprised how the DPO and other officers allegedly turned the matter against her.
She said, “If the police force can do this to a police officer, how much more to the innocent civilians?”
PUNCH Metro reported that the spokesperson for the Edo Police Command, Moses Yamu, has not responded to calls and a text message put across to him on Sunday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the then Divisional Police Officer of the station at the time the incident occurred, SP Lilian Osemwegie, has now retired.
The media reports that a call was put across to a number said to belong to the former DPO was answered by a woman. However, after picking the call, the woman responded after a question from PUNCH that the number was, “Wrong number, wrong number.”
PUNCH Metro, however, stated that it cannot immediately verify if the former DPO was the one on the call. This was even as a police source insisted the number was the former DPO’s number.
source: PUNCH
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U
